The Los Angeles Chargers are desperately hunting for a spark in today’s Week 3 matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
Call it a clever response to a roster crunch or just the ultimate motivational push for Justin Herbert, but the Chargers elevated a very familiar face to the active roster: his younger brother, tight end Patrick Herbert.
Chargers Activate Justin Herbert’s Brother, Patrick Herbert
The Chargers’ tight end room has completely collapsed. With both David Njoku and Charlie Kolar sidelined with injuries, Jim Harbaugh’s squad was left with just one healthy tight end on the active roster in Oronde Gadsden II. Letting all those blocking and receiving responsibilities fall squarely on Gadsden’s shoulders was a recipe for disaster.
They needed a body to step up to the plate.
Given their dire situation, the Chargers promoted Patrick Herbert from the practice squad to join Gadsden, according to NFL insider Tom Pelissero.
The move sets the stage for Patrick’s official NFL debut playing alongside his brother. It’s a smart stroke of roster management from Harbaugh, even if the circumstances forcing their hand weren’t ideal.
The Chargers need a win against Buffalo today to avoid an ominous 0–3 hole and keep any remote playoff hopes alive. Throwing his brother into the mix gives Justin the exact kind of emotional motivation and extra push he needs to secure L.A.’s first win of the year—especially since it doubles as a milestone for Patrick’s debut.
Like his older brother, Patrick put together a solid career out in Eugene, playing tight end for Oregon and hauling in 31 catches for 388 yards and four scores.
Too bad their paths to the pros looked completely different.
While Justin rolled into the league as a locked-in top-10 franchise QB, Patrick had to take the hard road. He went undrafted in 2025, caught on with Jacksonville’s practice squad, and bounced around until the Chargers scooped him up to stack their tight end room behind Oronde Gadsden II.
Now, thanks to an absolute injury crunch in Week 3, he’s getting bumped straight to the active roster.
Patrick Herbert Can Actually Win Big for the Chargers
With both David Njoku and Charlie Kolar in street clothes, Jim Harbaugh had no choice. It turns what started as a quiet practice-squad grind into a massive career audition against the Bills. Plus, Patrick has the raw, physical blocking tools LA needs against the Bills.
The younger Herbert is known more for his blocking than receiving.
At 6-foot-5 and 255 pounds, Patrick brings a massive frame built for dirty-work blocking. Bills’ pass rush is as big of a wrecking ball as it comes for an offense, and it becomes much more concerning when it’s a struggling offensive scheme like the Chargers’ we are talking about. Having a heavy blocker like Patrick lets them run heavy packages without leaving their quarterback exposed.
If Justin dials up the right packages today, L.A. might not find an answer to their massive roster gap, but it could mean the first-ever Herbert-to-Herbert connection in the NFL.
Justin Herbert Gets Personal Update on Brother Patrick’s NFL Debut in Chargers vs. Bills